Hillary Clinton Hates On Video Games

[Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton (October 26, 1947):]Source: LYBIO.net
I’m here today as a parent and a senator and along with my colleagues and so many of the advocates from around the country. We are determined to stop a situation in which video games with pornographic and violent content are being peddled to our children.

Today, I’m announcing along with my colleagues, senator Lieberman and Bayh, the Family Entertainment Protection Act. This bill will prohibit the sale of violent and sexually explicit video games to minors. And will give parents the tools they need to make informed decisions.

Now as the holiday season is upon us, this is a particularly important time to raise awareness of this issue. Video games are hot holiday items. And I understand that they are certainly entertaining and even educational in many instances. They can help our children learn. They can increase hand and eye coordination. But it is also clear that there are games that are just not appropriate for children and busy parents are looking for some guidance all the time, but especially during this hectic holiday season.

Now as you can see from the posters that we have displayed here, many games contain content that is deeply disturbing. It’s almost routine in popular games for players to spray other people with oozes, to drive over pedestrians, to kill police officers, to attack women and in some cases even to engage in cannibalism.

[Hillary Clinton:]Source: LYBIO.net
Players commit gruesome acts like these using top of the line graphics in stunningly realistic detail.

Now it is up to adults, whether they wish to expose themselves to this type of violence and pornography, but we have 40 years of research to tell us [that] violent media is bad for our children.

According to the most comprehensive statistical analysis yet conducted, violent video games increase aggressive behavior, as much as lead exposure decreases children’s IQ scores. And I want people to think about that. Everybody knows lead poisoning is bad for children. Well, I want everybody know that exposure to violent video games is also bad for children.

There was testimony before the Senate Commerce Committee in 2000, that playing video games, violent video games accounts for a 13% to 22% increase in teenagers’ violent behavior. Yet we know that such games are easily accessible.

A recent study by the National Institute on Media and the Family found that children between the ages of 9 and 14 were able to purchase M-rated video games nearly 50% of the time. Furthermore, nearly a quarter of retailers didn’t even understand the ratings they were supposed to enforce. And only half of the stores surveyed, train employees in the use of the ratings. Well, we need to do better and that’s why we’re introducing the Family Entertainment Protection Act.

And let me be very, very clear. This legislation is not about government censorship or regulation of content. Quite simply, it is about protecting children and empowering parents. We need to treat violent video games the way we treat tobacco, alcohol, and pornography. We know that these products are damaging to children. And we need to give parents the tools to keep them out of kids’ hands.

If you put it just really simply, these violent video games are stealing the innocence of our children. And it is certainly making the job of being a parent even more difficult. So the time has come to put on the brakes. And to just insist that parents know what material is in the video games their children play and to pass laws with real teeth that will send a clear message that we really do mean business.

I’m pleased now to introduce Norman Rosenberg, who is the President and CEO of Parents’ Action for Children, a nonpartisan network of parents founded by the actor and director, Rob Reiner.

[Hillary Clinton:]Source: LYBIO.net
Parents’ Action for Children mobilizes parents to stand up for policies that put children and families first. And Mr. Rosenberg has certainly done that in his 30 years of advocacy on behalf of children’s welfare. He first came to Washington in 1977, when he fought for the Rights of Children with Disabilities. He’s a native New Yorker and brought up in New York City, graduated of the State University of New York at Buffalo, and a former professor in SUNY Buffalo’s School of Law where he taught family law and juvenile justice.

And finally, what makes him even more qualified to be here today is, he is the father of twin boys, just like senator Bayh. So, Mr. Rosenberg looks at the effect of violent and pornographic video games on children in a very personal way.